Elateriformia

Belongs within: Coleoptera.
Contains: Buprestidae, Byrrhoidea, Elateroidea, Dascillidae.

The Elateriformia are a diverse group of beetles. Many elateriforms have a heterogeneous life cycle, with long-lived larvae ecologically disparate from the short-lived adults. Adults often have a streamlined body and complex pro-mesothoracic locking device. The antennae are rarely clubbed and often serrate, and the hind coxae are usually more or less excavate to receive the femora (Lawrence & Britton 1991).

Molecular phylogenetic analysis (McKenna et al. 2015) supports the inclusion in the Elateriformia of Nosodendron, a genus of ovoid, shining black beetles found as both larvae and adults feeding on slime fluxes in tree wounds. Nosodendron differs from other elateriforms in possessing a well-defined, three-segmented antennal club (Lawrence & Britton 1991). They have a prognathous head and are capable of protectively folding their legs into cavities on the underside of the body. The only species known from Europe is the tufted nosodendron N. fasciculare which is regarded as threatened in some parts of its range (Bouchard 2014).

Unusual antennae also characterise the Rhipiceridae which have pectinate antennae in the females but flabellate, many-segmented antennae in the males (Lawrence & Britton 1991). Males of Rhipicera may have up to 49 antennal segments. Larvae of Rhipiceridae are only definitely known for the North American species Sandalus niger, which develop as ectoparasitoids of cicada nymphs that are located by the active triungulin-like first instar. Adults apparently do not feed and may be found aggregating in large numbers (Katovich 2002).

A close relationship between the Rhipiceridae and Dascillidae (together forming the Dascilloidea) is supported by features of the prothoracic interlocking device, wing venation and aedeagus (Lawrence & Britton 1991). Genera of Rhipiceridae exhibit disjunct distributions with Sandalus being most widespread, found in Africa, Asia and the Americas (Katovich 2002).

<==Elateriformia [Artematopoidea, Dascilliformia, Rhipiceroidea, Sternoxi]
    |--Nosodendron Latreille 1804I02 [NosodendridaeMW15, Nosodendrinae]
    |    |--N. asiaticumB14
    |    |--N. australicumLB91
    |    |--N. californicum Horn 1874I02
    |    |--N. coenosumB14
    |    |--N. cribratum Cast. 1840 [incl. N. punctatostriatum Chv. 1863]FS90
    |    |--N. fasciculare (Olivier 1790)B14 [=Byrrhus fascicularisLC40, Sphaeridium fasciculareB14]
    |    `--N. unicolor Say 1824I02
    `--+--+--BuprestidaeMW15
       |  `--+--ByrrhoideaMW15
       |     `--ElateroideaMW15
       `--DascilloideaMW15
            |--DascillidaeMW15
            `--Rhipiceridae [Rhipidoceridae, Sandalidae]K02
                 |--ChamoerhipisK02
                 |--PtiocerusK02
                 |--ArrhaphipterusK02
                 |--Polymerius marmoratusK02
                 |--Sandalus Knoch 1801K02
                 |    |--S. californicusK02
                 |    |--S. cribricollisK02
                 |    |--S. niger Knoch 1801B14
                 |    |--S. petrophyaB14
                 |    `--S. porosusB14
                 `--RhipiceraMW15
                      |--R. attenuata Westw. 1842M86
                      |--R. druryiM86
                      |--R. femorata Kirby 1818B14
                      |--R. mystacina [=Hispa mystacina, Polytomus mystacinus, Ptilinus mystacinus]B35
                      |--R. pumilio Westw. 1842M86
                      |--R. reicheiM86
                      |--R. tessellataM86
                      |--R. vestitaM86
                      `--R. vetusta [incl. R. brunnea Westw. 1842]M86

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[B35] Boisduval, J. B. 1835. Voyage de Découvertes de l’Astrolabe. Exécuté par ordre du Roi, pendant les années 1826–1827–1828–1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d’Urville. Faune entomologique de l’océan Pacifique, avec l’illustration des insectes nouveaux recueillis pendant le voyage vol. 2. Coléoptères et autres ordres. J. Tastu: Paris.

[B14] Bouchard, P. (ed.) 2014. The Book of Beetles: A lifesize guide to six hundred of nature’s gems. Ivy Press: Lewes (United Kingdom).

[FS90] Fleutiaux, E., & A. Sallé. 1890. Liste des coléoptères de la Guadeloupe et descriptions d’espèces nouvelles. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6^e série 9: 351–484.

[I02] Ivie, M. A. 2002. Nosodendridae Erichson 1846. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr, M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley & J. H. Frank (eds) American Beetles vol. 2. Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea pp. 224–227. CRC Press.

[K02] Katovich, K. 2002. Rhipiceridae Latreille 1834. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr, M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley & J. H. Frank (eds) American Beetles vol. 2. Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea pp. 92–94. CRC Press.

[LC40] Laporte de Castelnau, F. 1840. Histoire Naturelle des Insectes Coléoptères vol. 2. P. Duménil: Paris.

[LB91] Lawrence, J. F., & E. B. Britton. 1991. Coleoptera (beetles). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 543–683. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[M86] Masters, G. 1886. Catalogue of the described Coleoptera of Australia. Part IV. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (2): 259–380.

[MW15] McKenna, D. D., A. L. Wild, K. Kanda, C. L. Bellamy, R. G. Beutel, M. S. Caterino, C. W. Farnum, D. C. Hawks, M. A. Ivie, M. L. Jameson, R. A. B. Leschen, A. E. Marvaldi, J. V. McHugh, A. F. Newton, J. A. Robertson, M. K. Thayer, M. F. Whiting, J. F. Lawrence, A. Ślipiński, D. R. Maddison & B. D. Farrell. 2015. The beetle tree of life reveals that Coleoptera survived end-Permian mass extinction to diversify during the Cretaceous terrestrial revolution. Systematic Entomology 40 (4): 835–880.